It was bought by a property speculator, James White, who planned to sell off the buildings for redevelopment, including the stadium which had been the centrepiece of the exhibition.

[12] After nine months, having earned a good sum from selling various buildings on the site, Elvin agreed to buy the stadium from White for a total of £127,000 as a £12,000 downpayment and the balance plus interest payable over ten years.

He raised the money to buy the stadium at the original price he had agreed with White, then immediately sold it back to the company, leaving him with a healthy personal profit.

Instead of cash, he received shares in the company, which gave him the largest individual stake in Wembley Stadium, and subsequently became chairman.

The top of one of the twin towers was erected as a memorial in the park on the north side of Overton Close in the nearby Saint Raphael's Estate.

The cities of Birmingham and Coventry launched bids to become the new home of England's football team[16][17] following disputes and a political row regarding the new Wembley's construction.

The FA had not considered admission by ticket, grossly underestimating the number of fans who arrived at the 104 gates on match day.

The first event held at the stadium was the 1923 FA Cup final on 28 April between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United.

[22] It was thought that the match would not be played because of the number of spectators inside the stadium that had spilled onto the pitch, until mounted police, including Police Constable George Scorey and his white horse, Billy, slowly pushed the crowds back to the sides of the field of play to allow the match to kick off just 45 minutes late.

The FA Cup final was played there in April or May until 2000 (excluding the 1970 replay when Chelsea beat Leeds United at Old Trafford).

[28] Seven years later, Wembley was the venue for a specially arranged friendly between teams called "The Three" and "The Six" to celebrate the United Kingdom joining the European Economic Community.

[30] In March 1998, Arsenal made a bid to purchase Wembley in the hope of gaining a larger stadium to replace their Highbury ground, which had a capacity of less than 40,000 and was unsuitable for expansion.

[31] On 20 May 2000, the last FA Cup final to be played at the old Wembley saw Chelsea defeat Aston Villa with the only goal scored by Roberto Di Matteo.

28–24 in front of 99,801 spectators, which as of 2017 remains the second highest rugby league attendance in England behind only the 1954 Challenge Cup Final replay at Bradford's Odsal Stadium when a then world record attendance of 102,575 saw Warrington defeat Halifax 8–4 (the original 1954 cup final at Wembley, drawn 4–4, was played in front of 81,841 fans).

[40] The Mal Meninga-led Australian team won the game 10–6 on the back of a Steve Renouf try in the north-east corner and Meninga's goal kicking.

Wembley was the main venue for the 1948 Summer Olympics, with Fanny Blankers-Koen and Emil Zátopek among the notable winners in athletics.

The Stadium also hosted the semifinals and finals of the Olympic hockey and football tournaments, the Prix des Nations event in the equestrian competition, and a demonstration match of lacrosse.

The Wembley Lions returned in 1946 and operated in the top flight until the end of the 1956 season winning a number of League titles.

Lionel Van Praag (1936), Tommy Price (1949), and Freddie Williams (1950 and 1953), all won World Championships whilst riding for Wembley.

The ashes for the speedway track were supplied by Richard Biffa Ltd whose operating base at the time was in Wembley Hill Road.

[42] Riders who won the World Championship at Wembley include; inaugural champion Lionel Van Praag (Australia), Jack Milne (United States), Bluey Wilkinson (Australia), Tommy Price (England), Freddie Williams (Wales), Jack Young (Australia – the first two-time winner, first back-to-back winner and the first second division rider to win the title), Ronnie Moore (New Zealand), Ove Fundin (Sweden), Barry Briggs (New Zealand), Peter Craven (England), Björn Knutson (Sweden), Ole Olsen (Denmark), Bruce Penhall (United States – the winner of the 1981 World Final), and legendary New Zealand rider Ivan Mauger.

Among those who never performed well there despite their credentials include 1973 World Champion Jerzy Szczakiel (who won his title at home in Poland and two weeks later under difficult circumstances failed to score in the World Team Cup Final at Wembley), while others such as Ivan Mauger and Ole Olsen often seemed to find their best form at the stadium.

[44] Wembley's owners' refusal to cancel the regular greyhound racing meant that the match between Uruguay and France in the 1966 FIFA World Cup was played at White City.

The United States Football League also played an exhibition game there on 21 July 1984 between the Philadelphia Stars and Tampa Bay Bandits.

The best-attended field hockey match of all time took place at the Wembley Stadium on 11 March 1978, when 65,165 people showed up for a game between England and the United States.

[49] On 18 June 1963, Wembley hosted a heavyweight boxing match between London native boxer Henry Cooper and American rising star Muhammad Ali in front of 35,000 spectators.

On 26 May 1975, in front of 90,000 people, Evel Knievel crashed while trying to land a jump over 13 single decker city buses, an accident which resulted in his initial retirement from his daredevil life.

In the main event, English wrestler Davey Boy Smith won the Intercontinental Championship from Bret Hart.

It later played host to a number of concerts and events, most notably the British leg of Live Aid, which featured such acts as David Bowie, Queen, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Status Quo, the Who, Dire Straits and U2, held at the stadium on 13 July 1985.

There is a persistent myth that a small locomotive met with a mishap when Watkin's Folly was being demolished, or the Empire Stadium built, and was buried under what became the "sacred turf" (though in some versions it is a carriage filled with rubble).